With increasing demands from power systems and electronic devices with electromechanical elements such as the movement towards electric vehicles, power and signal transfer on rotating components is becoming increasingly important. Slip rings have been the go to method for handling these situations with their relatively simple construction and reliability, however they have some serious drawbacks and aren’t always suitable.
Slip rings are commonly used in applications ranging from electrical generators to radio telescopes, however in some applications the additional friction that slip rings introduce is not acceptable one such application is aerospace. This additional friction generated by slip rings also causes the generation of debris which in turn begins to cause noise, It will also greatly impact the mechanical life expectancy of the machinery. However an rotary transformer/induction motor introduces an air gap!
Why would I use a rotating transformer/Induction Motor?
Rotating transformers provide a great alternative to traditional slip rings methods for signal and power transfer. Rotary transformers overcome issues of the increased frictional drag within slip ring methods by introducing an air gap. This removes the issues of additional friction generated which removes the generation of debris and noise, It also leads to an improvement of mechanical life (this has some limitations due to mechanical components still requiring movement).
However rotary transformers do provide challenges to the design phase, due to the method of working an air gap is required between the two core halves. This can lead to increased size and spacing requirements which can prove a challenge in some applications, however there is a way to mitigate the impact!
Gateway can provide bespoke solutions for the cores allowing for completely optimised designs reducing the size and space required whilst still providing you with the electrical performance you need. With in-house machine shop capabilities and a team of ferrite machining specialist any POT core can be turned into the ideal core for your transformer, or if your design is even more bespoke then the team are capable of machining custom geometry’s from ferrite blocks providing you exactly the core you need!